Examines the relationship between social background factors and educational achievements. Illustrates analysis of levels of disadvantage in schools and the complexities of judging school performance. Discusses the potential of z-score indicators to measure deprivation levels in urban area schools. Suggests a strong relationship between…

Examines a number of language-related discourses about students'"problems" engaging higher education at a historically black South African university. These dominant discourses are then linked to Street's "autonomous" model of literacy and Rampton's "autonomous" model of applied linguistics in order to interrogate…

Examines neo-Marxist curriculum theories and the mainstream liberal concept of multiculturalism. An alternative nonsynchronous approach to multicultural education is based on the theory that individuals and groups in relation to economic, political, and cultural institutions have different and often conflicting outlooks at the same time. (JD)

Examines how colleges and universities can rededicate themselves to equal opportunity for minority students. Because of cutbacks in higher education and reduced opportunities for minorities at the postsecondary level, colleges and universities must make a concentrated effort to recruit and retain minority students, and to increase their chance for…

The authors of the book "Reducing the Risk: Schools as Communities of Support" are interviewed. The book proposes a research-based theory of dropout prevention that stresses the importance of school membership and networks of support. (TE)

Assesses the progress of equality since Brown v Topeka Board of Education and argues that there still has not been a full implementation of that Supreme Court decree. School integration is shown to be declining. It is recommended that The court could merge the equality standards of Plessy v Ferguson with Brown to provide quality education. (GR)

Reports a study comparing academically at-risk elementary students with typical students to determine differences in family functioning. Researchers collected data on the families and students and determined that at-risk families were different in demographics and family functioning and were less cohesive and adaptable than families not at risk.…

A computer network designed by Tennessee State University, a historically black institution, links 29 schools, colleges, and community institutions and is financed with corporate, state, and federal funds. Focus is on providing access to technology in inner-city neighborhoods and institutions, especially within schools. Expansion of the system is…

Argues that the GI Bill has largely gone unfulfilled for blacks. This is because the poverty in which most blacks found themselves after World War II made seeking higher education problematic. College overcrowding, inadequate precollege preparation, and segregationist policies at schools did not help. The result was greater pressure on black…

Explores the findings from a two-year participant observation study of educational reform in an inner-city setting. The author deconstructs a major sociological/educational assumption instantiated in the reforms and attempts to delineate an alternative theoretical framework for understanding educational reform failure in inner-city situations. (GR)

Provides comments on the long-term growth and adaptation of immigrant youth born after 1965 and living in the United States. The author explores the impact of immigration laws, discrimination, and economic opportunities in American society on today's children of immigrants and how these conditions can drive them into the lower socioeconomic…

A cohort of 782 Soweto (black South African) students was traced during students' first 4 years of schooling, 1987-90 (apartheid still in effect). Only 55 percent completed second grade in 4 years, but repetition in grade was a much greater problem than dropping out. Discusses postapartheid policy implications for improving educational efficiency…

The extra effort required for second-language learning by disadvantaged students is discussed and illustrated in a diagram that emphasizes the need for individualized and eclectic teaching approaches. (LB)

Difficulties in teaching students whose general knowledge is limited are discussed by a teacher at the Nofe-Golan Regional High School. Suggestions are offered regarding obtaining information about each student, preparing first lessons, student and teacher ground rules, readying students for tests, and special activities. (LB)

A survey of 418 (61%) General College students (academically underprepared) demonstrated how differences on career decision-making self-efficacy, social and academic integration, and academic persistence differ according to individual and family characteristics. (SK)